Rose Season Is Upon Us - Horse and Plow's Newest Rose Featured in Chronicle

Roses in the Chronicle's recent tasting

Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer (at least in some places) and so it's official for people who need permission: it's time to drink rose!

This week the Chronicle featured top roses of the season and listed one of my perennial favorites, although it changes each year: Horse and Plow's North Coast Rose ($17 a bottle).

I had a chance to visit with winemakers Suzanne Haggins and Chris Condo at their Sebastopol home recently (the location will soon be home to their tasting room as well - in a few years time) and will feature more about that visit later. Their Horse and Plow wines consistently pair fine wine making with affordable prices - a rarity! Thus, they are frequently among my favorites.

This wine is sourced from one of my favorite organic, heritage, dry farmed vineyards - Testa in Calpella (near Ukiah in Mendocino County) from a blend of 68% Carignane, 16% Syrah, and 16% Grenache.

Horse and Plow's previous rose won a top 100 wine listing from the Chronicle's annual awards, so it's a pleasure to see what the new vintage is like, since it's a wine that changes from vintage to vintage (but is always made solely from organically grown [and certified] grapes).

To purchase, contact the winery or order online here. This wine will sell out - not much is made - only 325 cases - so time is of the essence.

Amazon's New Wine Dept: A Place for Organically Grown Wines

Buying organically grown wine has been a bit of a challenge. Online, one can't always be sure that wine is grown from certified grapes (unless it says it on the label), and the checkout method for each winery or wine merchant is its own process.

Fortunately there's Amazon.com's new Amazon Wine department. This new wine outlet has some pros and cons.

The PLUSES:

You can accurately identify and order organically grown wines at a glance. I found 87 wines listed for U.S. organic.

Check the organic box on the left and up pops Paul Dolan, Patianna, Bonterra, Benziger, Snoqulamie and Pacific Rim, all solid domestic offerings. Other U.S. brands include high end Long Meadow, and low brow Orleans, Green Truck, Organic Wine Works and Cottonwood Creek (the Franzias' brand). Other listed brands include Carol Shelton, Yorkville Cellars, Heller Estate, Jeriko and Barra of Mendocino.

While Sterling is phasing out its organically grown wines, these are still for sale here; and Korbel's one and only organically sourced Brut was also offered.

No Added Sulfite (NSA) wines are available from Frey and Badger Mountain.

The ordering and shipping costs are displayed very quickly and in an easy to read visual format.

CONS:

No Added Sulfite wines are not a listed category nor a subcategory in the organic category - i.e. so if you are looking for "Made with Organic Grapes" (which you should be) on the label, you have to look more carefully. Frey and Badger do not make these wines, but are a significant portion of the bottles offered.

Despite the ease and convenience, shipping charges are only marginally cheaper than buying direct from the winery on the winery's own web sites - about $10 for 1 to 6 bottles. No merchants are offering wine via Amazon's Prime service (which ships all merchandise free after you pay an annual fee).

BOTTOM LINE:

For everyday wines
You're still better off becoming a wine club member at a moderately priced winery with ridiculously good wine - like McFadden or Horse and Plow - and getting wine club discounts. Most of the small winery clubs will let you pick your own selection instead of taking quarterly shipments and will let you buy cases as you need them. You'll get discounts in the 25% range (by the case) and when sales happen up to 40% off.

Case shipment runs about $20.

For special wines
Shop online; the best prices are often from wine merchants but they don't provide the online know how to help you find and select wines (nor do clerks in most wine stores).

Sept. 21 Grenache Day!

In honor of Grenache Day, a number of U.S. wineries have organized festivities from Santa Rosa to Paso Robles.

For those of you unfamiliar with grenache, the occasion is a great time to get acquainted with the wonderful wine. A lighter red, less full bodied than a Cabernet or Pinot Noir, it's often an everyday wine in Spain and France.

In honor of this great grape, find all the best organic and biodynamic selections from California in this post from 2011 right here (under $20) and over $20.

Featured are selections from Beckmen, Qupe, Tablas Creek, Horse and Plow (old vines, dry farmed - from Testa - one of my faves). A case of the latter runs $270 (at the case price) or $25 a bottle.

[Bonny Doon, despite much ballyhoo and its position as leading the charge for Grenache Day, does not have an organically farmed Grenache, alas. (It used to, but switched sources).]

Here's more about the festivities. Of the wineries listed on the release there, only Qupe and Tablas Creek are among those offering organically grown grenache. Qupe will be having special tastings in its tasting room in Santa Barbara County and Tablas will be celebrating in Paso Robles.

Grenache is associated with the former Aragon
whose former territory is shown above

You can read more about the grape on the Tablas Creek website here.

Although the Tablas Creek history, like many, claims French or Spanish origins, many now consider that Sardinia may be the source of this varietal where it is today known as Cannonau.

It has high yields and ripens late. A surprise to me - I learned on Wikipedia - it's widely grown in the San Joaquin Valley. It's usually blended in France with Syrah and Mourvedre and it constitutes the bulk (80%) of the famed Chateauneuf de Pape.

So find a bottle - go for the Horse and Plow before it runs out (this would be the most historic old vine choice) - or the Qupe - and raise a glass to this lovely light red!

The Great Grenache Roundup (Organic or Biodynamic, Of Course!)

Grenache grapes

My latest copy of the Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine arrived in the mail this week and is always good for a quick read. I never understand how they select which wines to review (as many of my favorites are usually not included - oh well) - but since I am still in the stages of acquainting myself with their preferences and predilections, I read them.

In this July newsletter, they have a more newsworthy preface than usual, since the issue focuses on Syrah and Rhone wines. One of their trends they describe is that Grenache and Marsanne have big potential in California.

Leaving Marsanne aside (whilst hoping Bonterra's new owners decide to try making it again), this was my jumping off point for deciding to do a roundup of Great Grenaches. And the more I looked, the more interesting the story of the organic California grenache became.

After all grenache is the second most widely grown grape in the world. It does seem curious that California's been so intent on chasing harder to grow red grapes, while Grenache has been a comparative rarity.

It turns out Robert Parker (quoted here from Vinography) has been wondering the same thing - why Grenache hasn't been more widely grown in California and isn't more appreciated.

Parker maintains that it is consistently underrated and under recognized both as a wine that can have some of the complexity and expressiveness of good Burgundy, as well as being a fabulous match for food.

"I find myself buying more and more Grenache based wines as I get older," says Parker, who says he is drinking younger and younger wines because he doesn't have the time to wait for current vintages of Bordeaux, for instance, to age properly. Because of its sensitivity to light and air, says Parker, he thinks Grenache based wines are best in the first 10 years of their life, though he notes that some can last much longer.

Originally from Spain, garnacha, as it is called in Spain, is widely grown in France as well. Grenache (the French name) predominates in Rhone blends in France and makes up the greatest portion of southern France's famous Chateauneuf de Pape. Grenache is usually blended with other grapes, and a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blend is one of the most common.

California has lots of great grenache growing territory (from Lake County to the Central Coast), but it's pretty much underexploited. Organic and biodynamic grenache is rare - but most of the offerings are high quality and a treat to explore.

Imported grenaches are rarely organic or biodynamic (those that are are on par in terms of prices compared to U.S.) so we owe the California producers in this roundup our thanks for making this available to us who prefer to source our wines locally.

The CGCW newsletter lists only one grenache from an organic producer - Tablas Creek's Cote de Tablas, a GSM blend - but there are many other worthy contenders. The original Rhone Ranger - Bonny Doon - offers us the perennially famous Cigare Volant, its homage to Chateauneuf de Pape, and there are many other wonderful GSM blends and predominantly grenache varietals to sample.

Almost all the main wine growing regions of California can grow grenache, which loves our heat and sun, but almost all the organic and biodynamic grenache in the Golden State is clustered in Monterey County and the Central Coast where the following producers grow a variety of other Rhone varietals as well:

• Monterey County (Bonny Doon)
• Paso Robles (Ambyth Estate, Tablas Creek)
• San Luis Obispo (Qupe's Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in Edna Valley)
• Santa Barbara County (Ampelos Estate, Beckmen's Purisima Mountain Vineyard)

Notably there is one old vine grenache vineyard - Testa in Talmage, in Mendocino's hot Ukiah corridor - that has 40 to 90 year old organic vines that go into Horse & Plow's Old Vine Grenache - only 50 cases are made - that is definitely worth sampling.

Under $20

Here are four lovely Grenaches for a modest (like mine) budget.

• Grenache, Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard, Edna Valley ($35/$17 online), Qupe

Qupe's tasting notes call this 100% Grenache "almost Pinot-Noir like in its structure and weight" and I agree, though the notes also go on to say "and yet when you smell and drink it, it is clearly Grenache!" (Agreed as well.)

(For those of you who have yet to discover Qupe, it, along with Jim Clendenen's Au Bon Climat, is one of the three leading organic/biodynamic pioneers, along with Beckmen, of the organic/biodynamic outpost of the Santa Barbara County wineries. A small group indeed - alas - but happily these three make up for their tiny size, compared to their nonorganic neighbors, in quality.)

The back of the label says this wine is dedicated to "Robert M. "Bob" Senn, the Rock on the Coast, early Grenache advocate and Qupe customer #001." I called the winery to get the real story and was told that Senn (now in the next world) was a leading light in putting Santa Barbara County on the map as wine making region. That he had a radio show in the 1970s - yes, the 1970's - on SB County wines (this beats Gary V by 20 years). He had a famous wine shop, LOWSA - Los Olivos Wine and Spirits Emporium - which was the Qupe tasting room until Qupe got a tasting room. He was also Qupe winemaker Bob Lindquist's best friend. I'm hoping he liked 100% Grenache - it's so unusual, but so delicious, you do kinda wonder why it's so often blended. Nice to have the option to taste it on its ownsome for a change. 

Qupe's Grenache is fermented with natural yeasts and then aged in neutral oak, sur lees, for 17 months. More from the winemaker's tasting notes: "elegant yet racy with wild cherry, spice and herbs-de-Provence...great intensity and balance." Yes.

Ratings: Tanzer: 91 points.

Where to Buy: Online or at winery; I just found it online by the case at Suburban Wines for $16.99 a bottle. (Ordered a case). Even with shipping it's about $20 a bottle. Extremely good value. 50% off basically. I've no idea why it's discounted so heavily. That is what below a trade discount or wine club member price - so go for it!

• Cuvee le Bec ($18), Beckmen Vineyards

Robert Parker loves it and so do countless others; Parker calls it "one of the finest bargains year in and year out" - and not just of California. In his own Wine Bargains book, he calls it one of the "wine world's finest bargains...an ideal bistro red, delicious and personality filled." It's a fantastic and affordable GSM blend.

Ratings: Parker/Wine Advocate: 89 points. CGCW: 84 points.

Where to Buy: Available in my local market (Berkeley Bowl); I've also seen it at Whole Foods (I think). As always, the winery is an option. A good wine to buy by the case and stock as a house wine since it really has year round appeal. Big hearted red.

• Old Vine Grenache, Testa Vineyard, Horse & Plow, ($18.99)

Testa is an old Italian family vineyard (and newly reopened winery) in Calpella, near Ukiah in Mendocino County. (I've posted two articles about it here already but never realized it had a grenache planting.) While a fair amount of grenache is now being grown in Lake County and once was in Mendocino, Mendocino's current grenache profile is pretty low. But this historic vineyard stands out. Horse & Plow makes only organically sourced wines and this one, like most of their wines, is unfined and unfiltered. It's 90% grenache with 10% carignane (which Testa also grows organically).

This is a very lovely grenache, and I'd put up right up there with the Qupe. I'm ordering a case!

Ratings: Wine Enthusiast: 90 points.

Where to Buy: K&L Wines carries it or you can get it from the winery.

Coming soon...I'll post about the more expensive organic Grenaches in the $20 and up range.